


a park night

by madnessiseverything



Series: the pevensies as observed by others [2]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia (Movies), Chronicles of Narnia - All Media Types, Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis
Genre: Gen, POV Outsider, Pre-Canon, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26481580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madnessiseverything/pseuds/madnessiseverything
Summary: Robert finds four children during his nightly shift at the park.
Relationships: Edmund Pevensie & Lucy Pevensie & Peter Pevensie & Susan Pevensie
Series: the pevensies as observed by others [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1919599
Comments: 3
Kudos: 118





	a park night

**Author's Note:**

> i swear not all of the ficlets in this series will take place in the park :D but the first two came to me at roughly the same time, so here we are.

It was a very uneventful night, and Robert was very bored. There were few people in the park; courteous lads who brought their ladies out for a nightly stroll after a romantic night out, the odd lone person with a cigarette and aimless feet. 

Almost as if the night heard Robert’s complaints of boredom, a yell pierced the peaceful silence of the park. Robert whipped his torch towards the sound and saw a small shape running, three others of varied size rushing after it. 

He started running towards them in turn. The smallest of the shapes stumbled and sprawled out on the ground, yelping in pain and immediately bursting into tears. Robert’s torch could now make out a young girl - maybe five at most - curled up and weeping on the pavement. The other shapes crystalised as other children, the tallest of them a boy that couldn’t be older than ten. Said boy was now pulling the crying girl into his arms, sitting on the pavement to console her. 

Robert moved closer and another girl, maybe eight or nine, looked at him with alarm. Her hand was wrapped around the arm of the fourth, a boy barely older than the crying girl. “What are you kids doing here?” Robert asked, making sure to not shine the torch in any of their faces. 

The oldest boy looked up, and the girl hid in his chest. Robert noticed all the children seemed to be in night clothes. “We’re on our way home, sir,” said the older girl, fear evident on her face. Robert supposed he didn’t cut the most reassuring figure with his height and quickly crouched to be at eye level with the kids. 

“My name’s Robert,” he started, hoping that giving his name would put the children at ease. “Where are your parents? It’s not safe for you to run around this late.” 

“They’re at home, sir,” spoke the girl again, the other boy now shuffling to hide behind her. “We’re sorry to disturb.” 

Robert decided to tackle another problem before he figured out how to get these kids home to their parents. God knows why and how they got out in the first place. Sweeping a quick glance over all the kids, he figured they must be siblings. He turned to the now no longer crying girl, still hidden in the boy’s chest. “Are you okay? That looked like a nasty tumble.” 

The girl curled closer to her brother and said nothing. The oldest seemed to use Robert’s torchlight to check over her legs and hands before looking back at him. “She’s alright. Thank you, sir.” 

Robert smiled what he hoped was a reassuring smile. His friends always told him his smile looked like he was trying to hide horrible news. “Alright then, let’s see about getting you four home.” 

“Oh, you mustn’t. We know our way,” said the older girl, with panic on her face. “Thank you very much, sir, but it’s not far!” 

The oldest scrambled to stand, with his sister in his arms. “It’s only two streets down that way,” he nodded to the park’s eastern exit. Robert didn’t know quite what to make of the fear on the children’s faces, but it didn’t make him any more willing to let them go off alone. 

“How about I accompany you to the street at the very least?” He tried to compromise. That seemed to relax the children somewhat, and Robert had the idea they might be afraid of getting into trouble should they arrive with a night guard at their door. 

“Lu, can you walk?” The boy asked the little girl, Lu apparently. She nodded slowly, wiping her face with the sleeve of her nighty. The boy gently set her down, and she clung to his hand. The other boy, still sticking close to his sister, stared at Robert with a mix of wonder and fear. 

“Alright, off we go,” Robert said and started walking, the kids uncertain in their steps at his side. Lu grabbed her sister’s hand, seemingly feeling safer and less distraught. Robert could see that the kids were holding back from saying things, the older sister repeatedly opening her mouth and closing it again quickly. 

“Ed, don’t hang back,” the older girl said as Robert followed them around a bend. The younger boy quickened his steps to be in stride with his siblings, grabbing his sister’s hand.

Robert’s curiosity got the better of him. “How did you end up in the park in your pyjamas?” The kids froze briefly, Lu looking terribly ashamed. Ed scuffed his shoes against the pavement. 

“Nothing bad, sir,” the oldest finally said. “We just got a little excited playing before bed.” 

Robert did not believe him for a second but didn’t press further. 

“This is it, sir,” said the older sister and the group stopped at the corner of another street. Robert swept the torchlight across the street and nodded. 

“Alright, off you go then. Good night.” 

“Thank you very much, sir. Good night.” The oldest pulled his siblings alongside the pavement towards the upper end of the street. Robert made a point of turning away but looked back over his shoulder just in time to see the kids climbing through an open window. Robert watched the oldest boost his younger siblings before climbing in himself. Robert frowned. He had half a mind to check that they hadn’t broken into a stranger’s house just to get away from him. But before he could move, the light inside the room flicked on, and he could see shadows moving about. They clearly didn’t seem worried about someone catching them. Satisfied, Robert rushed back to the park and his job.

**Author's Note:**

> i have a [narnia tumblr](https://bloodybigwardrobe.tumblr.com/) and am also active on [twitter](https://twitter.com/notanycritter).


End file.
